Tech

Velodyne vQuiet Headphones: Good Noise Reduction, Unimpressive Sound

Velodyne vQuiet Headphones Review

Noise Killer

Velodyne's vQuite headphones, which cost $299, are great at removing noise, but the overall sound quality isn't great for the price. The noise cancellation feature can be turned on or off with this switch.

Packaging

The vQuiet and the box they came in.

Foldable Design

The vQuiet are foldable for easier carrying.

Box Contents

The whole package.

Comfortable Cans

The Velodyne vQuiet are adjustable and can accommodate most heads.

How It Looks

I daresay the vQuiet look decent on this particular head.

Just Hangin' Out

Audio bonanza.

There's a special niche amongst the thousands of headphones out there, begging for attention of frequent travelers and those who work in noisy environments. We're talking about active noise-canceling headphones, and we've got a fresh pair on our hands: the Velodyne vQuiet.

Velodyne is no newcomer — the Silicon Valley-based company has 30 years of experience in acoustics, and is best known for its subwoofers. In 2012 it entered the headphones market, and the vQuiet headphones are its latest product — a stylish entry into the world of noise-reduced audio goodness.

Look, Feel and Features

The vQuiet have a modern, sleek look that falls in between hi-fi headphones and portable ones, which is pretty much where Velodyne is positioning them in the market. The matte-black cans with the Velodyne logo (one side serves as a bypass button) on the sides will probably appeal to most listeners, and they look more than decent on my head (which can’t be said of many heaphones).

The list of features is quite long — the vQuiet are foldable, can accommodate heads of various sizes, and they have an audio output jack for daisy-chaining with other headphones. They also come with a black carrying pouch and a detachable audio cable, which has in-line audio and phone controls. They're rechargeable, meaning you don't have to buy new batteries every now and then, but you do have to plug them into a USB port every once in a while.

Most importantly, the vQuiet headphones are comfortable — their leather ear cushions are not the softest I've tried, but are soft and gentle enough for a multi-hour listening session.

Sound Quality

For comparison, I’ve used my own pair of Creative’s Aurvana Live over-the-ear cans. They don’t have active noise cancellation, and are far below the price range of the vQuiet ($99 versus $299), so take that into consideration. However, the difference in sound quality was, unfortunately for the vQuiet, quite big.

The Aurvana Live headphones sound better in every regard: the bass is deeper and more natural, the midrange is a lot clearer, and the dynamic range feels bigger. It’s as if the vQuiet headphones applied their noise cancellation to the music, too — their sound just feels muffled compared to the Aurvana Live.

This difference doesn’t change much even when you turn off the active noise cancellation on the vQuiet.

I’ve tried both headphones with a wide variety of music, coming from a Retina MacBook Pro: Deftones, Clutch, Cloudkicker, Daft Punk, Goldfrapp and The National. The verdict stays the same: For its price range, Velodyne vQuiet offers sound that's just not very exciting.

Noise Executioner

However, while regular headphones mostly aim to give you the best possible sound, active noise cancellation cans also aim to kill the outside noise and to make your train commute or airplane flight comfy and quiet. In this light, the subdued sound coming from the vQuiet can be at least partially forgiven.

The active noise cancellation is, therefore, another story, and I treated it as such. Turn it on near a microwave or printer, and those sounds instantly get converted into a pleasant, quiet hiss. I haven’t had a chance to test the vQuiet on an airplane, but I did try them next to a noisy washing machine, and the noise was almost completely gone, even when I turned the music volume to very low.

One qualm that comes to mind would be the fact that the quiet hiss produced by the headphones’ noise cancellation is audible even when you’re in a very quiet room. Then again, these cans are best suited for noisy environments. Also bear in mind that the vQuiet's noise cancellation won't completely dull all outside sounds. It works best with constant, humming or droning noises, but you'll still hear people calling you, which is, in my opinion, a good thing.

The Lowdown

What’s good

Good noise cancellation

Comfortable

Good looking

What’s Bad:

Unimpressive sound quality

Pricey

Bottom Line:The Velodyne vQuiet headphones look good, have a lot of features, they’re comfy and they will turn the surrounding noise into (almost) nothing. For the price, however, they should be delivering much better sound.

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